Innovation & data-driven digital marketing.
Memorizing the playbook is the first order of business when a football coach trains their recruits. It details essential information to inform the players’ minutes on the field. Similarly, digital marketers create their own playbooks for the material they produce. This content standard keeps everybody on the same page, whether in branding, quarterly KPIs, or long-term goals.
A content strategy playbook will look different from one organization to the next. However, all of them should contain the following eight components to be effective:
1. Statement of Purpose
Every content marketing playbook should have an introduction that outlines its role in the company’s overall digital content strategy. This explanation can include several things, from campaign goals to unique positioning challenges or general use-cases for the playbook.
2. Description of the Target Audience
Each content marketing team must work from a unified set of target personas. Your audience outline should include detailed descriptions of demographic information, behaviors, needs, values, and concerns.
Your content will always be more effective when you understand who is on the receiving end of your words. A clear set of personas helps your team communicate relevant and timely information to their target audience.
3. Branding Brief
Your brand’s tone, voice, personality, style, and values make you recognizable—or even better, unforgettable. A branding brief in this context provides information to help align all content with the fundamental elements of your organization. It might include:
- Brand values;
- Relevant company history;
- Description of tone and personality;
- Details on the brand from the customer’s point of view.
It may also help to include a brief content example that demonstrates your brand voice, positioning, or style to help contextualize your guidelines.
4. Messaging and Scripts
Consistently is critical for a healthy brand presence. A content strategy playbook should provide examples of compelling content—and the process your team followed to get there. As digital marketers, you are the gatekeepers of your brand. Create a shared vision and procedure for developing and evaluating emails, messenger responses, or social media replies.
5. Content and Digital Asset Library
Content like eBooks, white papers, articles, FAQs, wikis, case studies, videos, etc., are accessed by potential customers for education and product information. Often, sales teams will use these resources to plus-up a sales pitch or convince a client to close a deal.
Content should be easily accessible on a shared server or location so that any team member can find the resources they need. Include a reference to your storage structure in the content strategy playbook and guide employees on where to find these assets.
These digital assets might include images, fonts, logos, photographs, document templates, or other universally-applicable brand elements.
6. Distribution Channels
A content distribution channel is an owned, earned, or paid channel where your content is shared or published. Owned channels include your company blog, website, and social media channels.
- Earned channels: where others publish your content due to the quality and relevance to their audience. This group also includes mentions and links;
- Paid channels: often refer to influencer content, PPC or traditional advertising, and sponsored posts. Your playbook should detail what these channels are when used and any other important notes.
7. Analytics
Every digital content strategy should include measurable goals and objectives. Your team can gather analytics through your tech stack. Include a list of tools you use to measure content efficacy, what specific metrics they track, and how to draw insights from the data.
8. Points of Contact
Who is in charge of updating and distributing the content playbook? Who creates the content today? Who are the primary players in content approval? Update personnel information and general contact details regularly for content editors, social media managers, and other stakeholders.
A Content Strategy Playbook to Ensure Quality and Consistency
A content playbook is a valuable asset for any digital marketing team. It keeps everybody on the same page and ensures that quality, branding, and messaging are never compromised. It can even unlock opportunities with freelancers and contract employees as they onboard quickly to help you develop content.
Are you interested in developing a winning content strategy but don’t know where to start? Contact a 10x Digital expert today, and we can walk you through how to make your ideas become a playbook for success.